BELEF 06 theatre programme focuses on the topic of polis and megalopolis.

While polis was a social community in the time of ancient Greece, every theatre was essentially political in nature. That is to say, it dealt with problems concerning everyone living in a polis. From the viewpoint of a modern, cynical and apolitical citizen in a city, this may seem odd, but whatever was of concern to the polis itself also concerned the citizens of the polis.

A large segment of this year's BELEF theatre programme is devoted to a sort of social archaeology, daydreaming about the time when theatre was an organic part of life in a community. This summer in Belgrade, three theatre directors will be working on their own archaeological sites individually, unearthing reality layer by layer. Ivana Vujić with Brecht's Antigone, Nikita Milivojević with his Theban Cycle of Ancient Greek Tragedies and Stevan Bodroža with Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound will be searching for their poleis.

On the other hand, a modern resident of a metropolis is an individual, seemingly bereft of the sense of belonging to something or ability to influence anything. For him/her, the metropolis is a fact of life, a fait accompli which he/she may only accept and adjust to in some measure, but which wears him/her down existentially to such an extent that this individual has no strength left to abandon it if he/she cannot possibly change it. Hence, the second segment of the BELEF theatre programme is devoted to the individual in quest of his/her own happiness and freedom in a metropolis. This segment features three modern plays: The Ugly by Aleksandra Glovacki, Disco pigs by Enda Walsh and Suffering for Freedom by a group of authors. Directors of these shows are Predrag Štrbac, Kokan Mladenović and Vida Ognjenović, respectively.

This dichotomy between the modern and the ancient, the individual and the collective, scepticism and dreams, delineated through six theatre shows and many accompanying programmes, is an aggregate, or at least a step forward which may hint at an aggregate of what is intimate and collective feeling of Belgrade. In this respect, we take pride particularly in the fact that these projects have attracted many outstanding local drama artists. This year we have deliberately put aside theatre shows from abroad aiming to create an opportunity for ourselves to speak out about these issues, about our own selves and the way we are.

Even if this were not the case, at least we have talked. As it were, we have neglected this trait of humaneness to such an extent that, perhaps, we should start learning again how to talk to one another.

Theatre programme selector: Zanko Tomic